ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan, while reiterating Pakistan’s steadfast support for the Kashmiri people of Indian-held Kashmir till realization of their inalienable right to self-determination, has reminded the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council, of the imperative of honouring its commitment in this regard.
Being a direct party to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Pakistan will continue to underscore the imperative of holding a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, the prime minister said in a message on the occasion of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination through an impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations. The importance of the inalienable right to self-determination, the prime minister said, has been acknowledged in various human rights covenants and the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. Owing to Indian intransigence, the Security Council has failed to fulfil its pledge to the Kashmiri people, he added.
Imran said for over seven decades, the life of Kashmiris in IHK has been a chronicle of state-sponsored cruelty and terrorism. Around 900,000 occupation forces have converted the region into the largest militarized zone in the world. Post-5th August, 2019, India unleashed a new reign of terror in IHK, maintaining an inhuman military siege, perpetrating egregious violations of human rights of innocent people, especially women, children and the elderly with unprecedented impunity, and seeking to illegally change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, he added.
The prime minister said the world must ensure that human rights abuses do not go unpunished and that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity are held accountable. For more than 500 days now, the prime minister said, Indian occupation forces have been brutalizing the besieged innocent Kashmiris, brazenly denying their basic rights of communication, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and above all, freedom to determine their own future. "Kashmiris have been deprived of their fundamental rights to life, food and health despite the rampant COVID-19 pandemic. The recent spate of unprecedented Indian state-sponsored terrorism in IHK and discriminatory steps against minorities, especially Muslims, are a clear manifestation of the Hindutva ideology espoused by the RSS-inspired BJP regime," he said.
On his twitter handle late night on Monday, the prime minister posted his tweets in connection with the observance of Kashmiris Right to Self-determination Day on January 5. "We call on the international community to take action against the well-documented human rights violations being committed with impunity by Indian occupation forces against innocent Kashmiri men, women & children; & to ensure Kashmiris get their right to self determination," he posted in late night tweets.The prime minister said that on 5th of January, 1949, the United Nations guaranteed the right to self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir through an impartial plebiscite.
"We observe this day as a reminder to the UN & its member states of their unfulfilled commitment to the Kashmiri people," he added.
Despite suffering 73 years of brutal Indian occupation, the prime minister said generation after generation of the Kashmiri people remained steadfast in the demand for their inalienable right to self- determination as guaranteed to them under the UN Charter and by the UNSC (United Nations Security Council).
